General Education

Capital University is committed to the liberal education. A liberal education readies the student for every arena of life. Liberal Education develops intellectual skills, expands the breadth of learning through exploration of several modes of inquiry, and challenge students to examine foundational ethical and cultural assumptions. It enables students to think critically and reflective on vocation, citizenship, service, and religious and ethical commitments.

The Capital curriculum is organized into majors, minors and a university core of courses organized around twelve goals.

General Education Goals:

GOAL

OBJECTIVES

COURSE OFFERINGS

FIRST YEAR

Academic Foundations

(Complete this goal during the first year)

*A student can be waived from First Year Seminar if they have completed 31 credit hours of a study on a college campus.

Students will be able to think critically and creatively and to understand the aims and values of liberal education.

Students will reflect on physical, intellectual, emotional and social changes they experience in their adjustment to the learning and living environment of the university community, and think intentionally about their education and college experience.

ACT English 18-24:

Students with an English ACT of 18 or a SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing of 440-460 must take ENGL 111 (a 4-hr cognate course for UC 110 that emphasizes increased instruction in grammar and style), can not take UC 110 nor should they take ENGL 100.

SECOND YEAR

Cultural Diversity

Students will demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity and social responsibility, and explore the historical and contemporary sources of prejudice and discrimination, with primary emphasis on the United States.

Explain the historical and contemporary sources of prejudice and discrimination in the United States.

Identify the patterns of diversity and issues and problems that emerge in our pluralistic society.

Critique one’s own ability to assess personal behaviors, beliefs and attitudes in the development of commitments to social responsibility in our changing society.

FOURTH YEAR

Ethical Thought

Students will achieve an understanding of basic moral issues, practice critical and constructive ethical reflection, and consider alternative patterns of moral grounding, including Judeo-Christian tradition.

Critically examine moral issues students will be likely to face personally, professionally and as responsible citizens, articulating the grounding and implications of the positions.

Interpret the ethical issues raised by contemporary events, examining their sources and interrelatedness.

Articulate some of the basic positions and principles embodied in the development of ethical thought, including sources in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Reading and Writing

Oral Communication

Quantitative Reasoning

Global Awareness

Second Year

Cultural Pluralism

Religion

Fine Arts

Natural Science

Social Sciences

Third Year

Humanities

Fourth Year

Ethics

Ways of Fulfilling These Goals:

Presently there are four ways in which students may demonstrate that these goals have been met:

A. Course Curriculum

Successful completion of University Core courses (UC) are taken as meeting these goals. Some Goals also have Cognate courses that have also been determined to meet the requirements of these Goals.

B. Major Curriculum

By virtue of a course required for a specific major a student may satisfy both a General Education and major requirement. For example, students majoring in mathematics meet the Quantitative Reasoning goal and satisfy a major requirement by completing Calculus I. What follows is a list of goals met within the following majors:

MAJOR

GOAL FULFILLED

Accounting

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Art

The Arts

Art Therapy

The Arts

Athletic Training and

Athletic Training Pre-PT

Natural Science, Social Science, Quantitative Reasoning

Biochemistry

Quantitative Reasoning, Natural Science

Biology

Quantitative Reasoning, Natural Science

Business Management

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Chemistry

Quantitative Reasoning, Natural Science

Communication

The Arts

Computer Science

Quantitative Reasoning

Conservatory majors

(BA Majors excluded)

The Arts

Criminology

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Economics

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Economics-Political Science

Social Science

Education

Social Science

Education (Early Childhood)

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science,

Natural Science

Education (Intervention

Specialist)

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science,

Natural Science

Electronic Media and Film

The Arts

Engineering

(Dual Degree program)

Quantitative Reasoning, Natural Science

English - Creative Writing

The Arts

Environmental Science

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science, Natural Science

Exercise Science and

Exercise Science Pre PT

Natural Science, Social Science, Quantitative Reasoning

Financial Economics

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

French

Global Issues

Health Education

Social Science

Health and Fitness

Management

Natural Science, Social Science

History

(only with teacher licensure)

Global Issues, Social Science

Leadership & Management

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Marketing

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Mathematics

Quantitative Reasoning, Natural Science

Music Technology

The Arts

Nursing

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science,

Natural Science

Organizational Communication

The Arts, Social Science

Political Science

Social Science

Political Science

(only with teacher licensure)

Global Issues, Social Science

Psychology

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science,

Natural Science (Non-Laboratory)

Public Relations

The Arts

Religion

Religion

Social Work

Cultural Diversity, Social Science

Sociology

Quantitative Reasoning, Social Science

Theatre

The Arts

C. Transferred Coursework

Capital University has equivalency guides with many Ohio colleges and universities. Courses transferred to Capital that align with the transfer agreements will automatically be taken as having met the appropriate General Education learning Goal. Please note that some courses listed in the equivalency guides require the submission of a syllabus for acceptance. The articulation agreement is available on the Capital University Web site.

A student can be waived from First Year Seminar general education requirement if they have completed 31 credit hours of study on a college campus.

Coursework that is not specified in the equivalency guides may sometimes also be used to meet a General Education Goal, subject to review of the course syllabus. Transfer students may combine several courses from several different prior universities to petition for a substitution. Please use the General Education Waiver form to petition for this kind of substitution. Attach all syllabi to the General Education Waiver form, and submit the petition to the Academic Success office. Petitions submitted after April 15 may not be processed until the next academic year. All petitions for transferred coursework should be submitted prior to the last semester before graduation.

Transfer students with completed baccalaureate and/or master’s degrees from regionally accredited colleges or universities are waived from the Capital University General Education requirements effective fall term 2004. Students who earn an associate degree from a regionally accredited institution and complete the General Education requirements outlined in the Ohio Transfer Module* are presumed to have met Capital University’s General Education Goals with the exception of the Goals for Religion and Ethical Thought.

*The Ohio Transfer Module contains 54-60 quarter hours or 36-40 semester hours of course credit in English composition (minimum 5-6 quarter hours or 3 semester hours); mathematics, statistics and formal/symbolic logic (minimum of 3 quarter hours or 3 semester hours); arts/humanities (minimum 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours); social and behavioral sciences (minimum of 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours); and natural sciences (minimum 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours). Oral communication and interdisciplinary areas may be included as additional options. Additional elective hours from among these areas make up the total hours for a completed Transfer Module. Courses for the Transfer Module should be 100- and 200-level General Education courses commonly completed in the first two years of a student’s residency. Students completing a technical associate degree may complete the transfer module, but will likely have to take additional General Education courses beyond those required for the applied associate degree. Alternatively, students may transfer individual transfer module courses without completing the entire module (http://regents.ohio.gov/transfer/policy/transfer_policy_d2aa.php).

D. Assessment Testing

Students may demonstrate that they already possess the knowledge or skills delineated by a Goal. Assessment procedures are available for each General Education goal. Students who are interested in this option should contact Academic Success at http://www.capital.edu/Academic-Success/ or 614-236-6327 prior to enrolling in a course that has been approved to satisfy that particular General Education requirement. A waiver indicates that the requirements for a GE Goal have been met and no further courses are needed. Receiving a waiver is not the same as receiving credit for a course. Students should not schedule a GE course until after the waiver process for that General Education requirement is completed. Normally students can attempt to waive a General Education requirement only once.

1. Automatic Waivers

Students may receive automatic waivers for General Education Goal Reading and Writing and Quantitative Reasoning based on ACT or SAT test scores.

Reading & Writing Skills

Quantitative Reasoning

ACT English 28 minimum

ACT Math 28 minimum

SAT Verbal 680 minimum

SAT Math 670 minimum

There is no fee for an automatic waiver.

2. Assessment Testing Process

Students will have to complete either: (A) a test developed by Capital Faculty; (B) the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) test (CLEP Examinations 2017-18, CLEP Testing Center); or (C) an assessment interview with a faculty member (Contact the Student Success office or the appropriate department chair for detailed information regarding this option.)

3. Fees and Credit

Fees must be paid at the time a waiver test is attempted. Credit is not awarded for the A or C waiver process. However, three semester hours of credit is awarded for each CLEP test successfully passed. Credit will be granted in accordance with the policy in effect at the time the exam is administered. All test fees costs, and all fees are subject to change. CLEP Testing availability and related costs must be confirmed with each CLEP Testing Center.

E. Portfolio Submitted to UCAP

Students may demonstrate that they have acquired the skills or knowledge delineated in a General Education requirement through work or life experience. A student, for example, who has lived abroad for a period may wish to demonstrate that this experience has provided him/her with the knowledge and skills delineated by the Global Awareness requirement. Students complete this by assembling all the materials relevant to be evaluated by a faculty panel assembled for such purposes. More information regarding UCAP can be obtained at Academic Success http://www.capital.edu/Academic-Success/. (See the Undergraduate Academic Policies, Regulations and General Information section for more information.)

F. International Students.

International students with transfer credit from an international institution will be waived fromthe General Education Global Awareness requirement.